Why can entering IKEA with a task like buying a shelf turn into noticing rooms, lamps, textiles, and storage ideas before the shelf is picked up?

Answer: Staged discovery

Random wandering — Random wandering is plausible because the route can feel meandering. But the named areas and sequence make the wandering structured. A random store would not reliably move people from imagination to accessories to pickup.

Price anchoring — Price anchoring is tempting because tags matter. In this mechanism, tags help locate pickup, but the larger script is spatial discovery. A price comparison alone would not explain room scenes leading into accessory zones.

Staged discovery ✓ — The layout turns task shopping into scenes: first rooms show how things fit together, then accessories become easy additions. IKEA's own article defines the showroom as real-home room setups and the market hall as home accessories. The task becomes staged discovery.